DORSET is now one of the leading authorities in the country for the development of Family Hubs – offering one-stop services for families.

The county has secured £875,000 from the Department for Education over two years as one of twelve national pilot sites. In addition, the council will add £342,000 to help develop and roll out a network of hubs.

Some of the centres will be building-based but the council is also anticipating experimenting with an online version and setting up pop-up, or mobile hubs, for more remote areas.

The initial hubs will be at Trickett’s Cross; Leigh Park, Wimborne and Swanage.

Executive director for children’s services, Theresa Leavy, says that key to their success will be good staff, partnership working, being accessible and integrating with other services.

She told a people and health overview committee on Tuesday that the first should be operational by June 2023 with others to follow over the next 12 months, together with an outreach programme.

She said that in some areas the location for a possible hub was straightforward but in other places was yet to be identified and much might depend on the availability of public transport in deciding locations.

Ms Leavy said that the early indications were that some families would prefer to use services online and might find it easier to get in touch outside of normal office hours once children were in bed.

Said portfolio holder for children’s services and education, Cllr Andrew Parry: “We are leading on family hubs, we are right at the forefront of this with exciting times ahead.”

Cllr Cathy Lugg, who sits on an advisory board for the Trickett’s Cross hub, said the sense of excitement was shared by those working on the project: “We are confident we can do this,” she told the committee.

But other committee members were less optimistic. Purbeck councillor Beryl Ezzard said she welcome the concept but told fellow councillors: “I’m a bit sceptical about being able to pull this off and get the right model for the right area.”

Sturminster Newton councillor Carole Jones said she had doubts about whether there was enough money meet the need across the county.

She said through her work at the Pantry project it had become obvious that the needs and complexities of some families were “off the scale” and that the hub model might work with some, but not others.

“Do we have enough financial flexibility…I’m worried we don’t have to budget,” she said.

Dorset Council has this description of the approach its centres will take: “Family Hubs use a whole family approach to provide a single access point for family support services for a wide range of issues, either online through an easy to access digital offer or in welcoming places and spaces, offering help from a variety of services and support groups. The aim of Family Hubs are to join up existing family help services for families with children of all ages.”